Life of a civilian
by Muntin
Summary: Shinobi are treated better than civilians. This is a fact that most can agree on. For generations, civilians have just grit their teeth and bore it but then she was born. The one who brought to light the struggles and pains only a civilian could understand. In a desperate plight to show that life wasn't all sugary and sweet.
1. Prologue

Prologue

The women held the baby close in her arms. She stopped for a moment, looking for the sign. When she found what she was looking for she stumbled over.

The red liquid slowly trailed down her legs and the women bit her lip as too stop the pain that rushed through her body.

" _It has to be around here somewhere!"_ She thought desperately as the pain increased making her double over. Her legs felt sticky and she felt collapsing then and there but she knew she had to get there.

When the pain had lessened slightly she continued forward on shaky legs. She kept an eye out for any rocks or loose pavement jutting out of the ground.

She knew that if she fell there was a good chance she wouldn't be getting up.

The women stopped as coughs shook her body. Using her free hand, she wiped the blood off the side of her mouth. Before continuing she looked closely at the precious bundle in her arms.

The baby hadn't even twitched since the journey began but the women could here shallow smooth breaths that told her that it wasn't dead.

Yet.

She knew that she had to be close. She recognized these streets and knew she had to be going in the right direction. She looked up at the cold moon and determination filled her heart. She had to get there.

She started at a quicker pace, ignoring the squelching between her legs. The pain was almost unbearable but she gritted her teeth. She would do anything for her precious child.

After an eternity of searching she found the building she was looking for. It looked unassuming enough. The architecture was like many of the other slum buildings. But this place was special. This would be where her child would be growing up.

This was the moment the baby decided to wake. It looked at her with big hazel eyes and let out a small gurgle, hand outstretched towards her. The women took this hand within her own and gave a small smile to the adorable thing. When she touched it she could feel soft, innocent skin beneath her rough hands. She hoped her baby would stay innocent but, the women looked around, that was likely.

Keeping her hand on the infant she started towards the building. It was only a few more metres but, to the struggling women, these steps felt like miles.

The women fell onto all fours as she tried to make it up the small concrete stairs to the door however it looked like this was as far as she was going. She breathed out a small sigh of relief when she placed the infant on the doorstep.

She glanced one last time at her beautiful baby. The women took in her gorgeous eyes, tiny mouth and smirked at the tiny spiky tuft of hair on her head. As she did this her heart split in two. She wished she had the time to see her child grow up. To help on the first day of school, teach how to cook, help it with homework and so many other things. The women could feel the red liquid pool beneath her. It seemed that nature did not agree with her.

With one last smile, she set the child down. Almost as soon as she did this the baby's eyes widened and she began to cry.

The women flinched. _"Don't cry p-please. Don't make me leave now. I want to know she's safe. What kind of world is this to m-make a mother's last memories the sound of her child's agony!?"_ The women could feel a clear liquid drip down her face. She had no energy to comfort the screaming child.

She felt the door in front of her open and the bright fluorescent light burned into her eyes. She could smell the smoke and saw to large boots thud onto the steps.

"Another one. Add her to the pile. We're burnin' 'em tomorrow. They're startin' to smell" She could feel the scowl on his face and felt the large sigh. "Take the brat inside and get it to shut up. Don't want the cops round again."

Many a mother hopes that their last memory of their child is them happy or, at the very least, safe but not everyone is so fortunate. The last thing the women could remember is her baby's screams and large grabbing her floppy body and dragging it to a bloodstained pile of her kin.

 **[A/N]**

 **The dark side of Konoha everyone.**

 **This AU obviously but I always thought that shinobi were treated much better than civilians and I thought how that might have an effect over time because, lets face it, the world is far from perfect and while they have chakra these are still people.**

 **Have I spelt anything wrong? Have any advice? Want to rant about something and you've chosen this story? Leave a review!**


	2. Chapter 1

I suppose I should explain a bit about myself huh? My name is Cheree and I am an orphan. My birthday is 6th May and I am turning six this year. Six long years. Doesn't sound that long but in reality, many of my friends and those I considered family have died. Diseases such as the flu have wiped out nearly half of us. You really do not notice how long six years really is until you see a little child, no more than 18 months of age, succumb to the icy grips of winter. I would honestly consider that, yes, six years is a long time.

Who is us? Well, we are we would be an answer I would give but I am not trying to be annoying. Us or we are the group of children and adults that live here at the orphanage. It really does not deserve the name of an orphanage as it is more of a dump than any of the trash sites I have rummaged through. That is, however, besides the point.

We are the parentless ones. The non-important parentless one's mind you. The important ones were adopted by clans or those of importance some time ago. We are those with parents that nobody remembers or cares to remembers. Our parents do not even own a grave to their name but it's not like that annoys me. I never knew my parents. For all I know they may not deserve a grave but, as I said, I wouldn't know.

Maeyama and Akari run this "orphanage". To be truthful they are mostly here so that we have at least some food on the table and a place that is warm to sleep in. It can vary though. We have been kicked out of many buildings when the rent was too high to pay. But we always manage to find somewhere. I'm not sure the place we are staying now is entirely legal, but I will not be the one to deal with that legal battle.

Do not mistake yourself, however. I am not anyone of importance. I do not try to kid myself into thinking that I will grow into someone important because I won't. My dream now is to live to adulthood and after that perhaps I will work at a shop- if I'm lucky enough. If not, well, my pickpocketing skills are up to par. It is one of the things I am grateful to have been taught.

Most of the time at the orphanage I sat in my room just reading but occasionally I would hang out with others. The older ones always had games to play and us youngsters would follow them around. In a strange way, we were almost family. Not a normal family by any stretch of the word but I think that I care about the others. In a way, it was less like a family and more like a pack of wolves. We would look after each other, and we all knew that. It was a precarious battle for us to retain such relationships for at a mere moment someone could die or be killed but we somehow managed.

Today is nothing special. I'm sitting in class bored out of my mind, the children around me are acting stupid and the teacher is pretending he cares about us. These classes are mind-numbing and I almost never pay attention to them. I know most of this stuff anyway.

I go to a civilian school just like the rest at the orphanage. Only the privileged can afford to go to the Ninja Academy. Well, the privileged and the dumb. Honestly, orphans like me have a chance to go there for free- if we graduate that is, but we knew that our chances of being caught out as thieves, pick-pockets and illegal residents would increase by tenfold if we made that decision. We knew an orphanage that decided to send their kids to the shinobi school and… well… we are not quite sure where they are now but one day they all just disappeared and the building they inhabited was destroyed. It was after that we learnt to be distrustful of these shinobi.

I sigh and stare out the window. Unlike most of Konoha which had been upgraded and rebuilt after the war, it seems like this part had been forgotten. The buildings are still partially destroyed, and the buildings looked like they had been shoved together without cement. This truly earnt its name as the red-light district. At least we never got shinobi around. For all their pretence it seemed most of them were too scared to come down here. Patrols through here were scarce and far between. I was not one of them but many of the kids here could pick-pocket even the best shinobi without them even realising there was even a kid there.

I lazily begin to twirl a strand of hair around my finger. Ugh, why did my hair have to be so straight!? It annoyed me when I looked at Ami and saw her golden long wavy hair. Nothing like my mousy brown, ruler-straight hair. But, then again, in a way I was lucky. I didn't stand out.

"So Cheree what the answer?" I start slightly as the teacher breaks my chain of thoughts and I stare guiltily at him. Hagimori Sensei sighs dramatically. "Well…?" He continues. I feel my face burn as the class turns around to look at me. He picked on me very often. I think it wasn't just that I didn't pay attention very often- which true I didn't but more that I was one of the only kids that he wasn't scared would attack him.

"I don't know Sensei," I muttered. Hagimori Sensei raised his eyebrow unimpressed.

"And why is that Cheree?" He asks. I can feel a blush light my cheeks and wish a hole would open underneath me. Eventually, Sensei refocuses his attention on the rest of the class and I breathe a sigh of relief. "Anyone else?" He asks and the lecture continues.

I made a point to look like I was paying attention through the rest of class. It was dumb but I didn't like being asked something in front of the class. It was stupid because they probably didn't care what I did or said but the feeling of eyes burning into you is ugly. Not that I should care about these children. Most of them were just happy that they were inside, even in this abandoned warehouse that barely counted for a school.

Finally, Hagimori-sensei dismisses us. I grab my stuff to be ready to leave quickly. I didn't want to be called back after all. Then Hagimori Sensei says something that makes my blood run cold and my limbs freeze still.

"Be here bright and early tomorrow. I am going to teach at the Shinobi Academy for a few days and Iruka Sensei will be coming here. Be respectful to him and I expect you all on your best behaviours. Ok?"

I could feel my heart thud in my chest and my mouth turn dry. A ninja! Coming here!? I couldn't help myself as I began to shake. I could feel others around me doing the same thing. To be honest I wasn't sure which ones were scared and which ones were excited. I could imagine some being scared but most I believe would be thinking the same way as me.

Since an early age, I had the distrust of Shinobi drilled into me. Aside from that I also had a strange feeling around them. It was like I couldn't trust them. A ninja had never hurt me personally but whenever I saw one the odd feeling would not disappear. It had something to do with the terrifying stories the older ones would tell us. I could not be sure which ones were true and which ones weren't, but I would not take any chances.

Now that I knew that a ninja was coming to our school I was terrified. It was ridiculous really. It was likely that the teacher had better things to do than pick on small civilian children. Still, the terror would not dissipate even though I had tried to explain logic to myself.

As soon as Hagimori Sensei dismissed us I ran out of the classroom. I charged down to the bottom of the street where I could calm myself. I tried taking deep breaths but nothing would stop my rapidly beating heart so I gave up and leant against the cold stone building. I could see people looking at me weirdly and I slipped home. I had enough attention for one day.

-Later-

I lay on the floor in my room, leafing through my books with shaking hands. I wasn't really reading, just staring blankly at the paper as my brain went at a million miles a minute. So deep in thought was I, I didn't realise when the door to my room was opened until someone cleared their throat. I jumped slightly and looked up. It was Maeyama. He looked at me and I closed my books. I opened my mouth to speak but he beat me to it.

"What's the matter Cheree?" he said softly. I looked away, uncomfortable as he came to sit next to me. "You weren't at dinner." He continued. I flicked my eyes, looking at anyone but him.

"Mm not hungry…" I muttered tracing the image on my book. We sat in silence for a few minutes with me continually tracing the image. My finger was starting to hurt with how hard I was pressing it in, but I still did not look up.

Eventually, Maeyama takes the book out of my hands. I look at him blankly. I'm so confused that not even my emotions know what is going on. Eventually, though I can feel tears make my eyes wet. I look down and start picking at my clothes. Tears start dripping down my face and I grit my teeth and clench my teeth but it's no use. I leap at Maeyama.

"I-I'm s-s-so scared!" I cry, "I don't want to die!" Maeyama hugs me and runs his hands through my hair. I can feel his confusion though.

"Why are you scared Cheree?" he asks soothingly, though I can hear the real curiosity light his voice.

"We have a shinobi coming to our school tomorrow." Though I can tell he tries not too I can feel Maeyama stiffen slightly.

"What do you mean Cheree?" he asks seriously. All pretence of being calm is gone. He releases me from his hug and makes me look him in the eyes. I nod. "Uh huh," I say, though my now my tears are dried.

He takes my small hands in his and looks me in the eyes. "Promise me Cheree." I stiffen at his words, but he continues to look me in the eye and tightens his hold on my hands. "Do not mention where you live. You need to act like he would expect. That mean no big words lass. Ye must be innocent and flowy like the child he would expect. D'ya promise me Cheree?" I look at his earnest serious eyes and nod. He pulls me into a tight hug. "I just don't wanna lose ya. I'ma gonna have to tell this to Akari ain't I?" he mutters the last bit to himself and I pretend not to hear him.

It does worry me though. Especially when he lets me go and rushes out the room without a second glance, a worried expression on his face. I grab the blanket off my bed and my book and begin tracing the cover again.

This is worrying. If even Maeyama is worried that means, we are screwed. I am just going to have to take his advice and use it. I am an okay actress but good enough to fool a trained shinobi? Not so much. I grip the blanket tighter and wrap my arms around myself. I must do this though. Even if I don't want to go if I don't it will be even more suspicious. I'm just going to have to pull myself together and get on with it.

I open the book and stare blankly at the pages, a plan formulating in my head.

I did not get much sleep that night.

 **[A/N]**

 **I edited this 10/24/17. I realised it would not fit the rest of the story if I wrote it like I did so I changed it up a bit. Do you still like it? I hope so. It has also increased the word count so that is good as well.**

 **Want to point out a spelling error? Hate my grammar? Like flames? Leave a review!**


	3. Chapter 2

I sat down and looked around anxiously. From what I could see the teacher had not arrived yet but sometimes it is what you can't see that is more important than what is. Unconsciously I started fumbling with my threadbare pants before realising what I was doing and stopping. Damn! I really needed to get rid of my nervous habits.

I moved my hand away and half sat on it. A temporary solution but the best one I could come up with at such short notice. Hopefully, the teacher would arrive soon else I might snap. Not that I could do anything. I wasn't very strong, just a thin underfed weakling really.

I don't think I was the only one who was nervous though. There were a couple of other kids in the corner who was twitchy, as if they expected the table to turn into a human and jump at them- which, from my knowledge of shinobi, could actually happen.

Most kids seemed to be banding together into groups from what I could see. They were gathering around the sparse tables and either talking animatedly or sitting silently looking like bunnies while being hunted. I, personally, felt no reason to go over to either group. I learnt from an early age to be wary of alliances and people who seemed over friendly. No- it was safer to be alone.

It seemed like my actions of sitting on my lonesome had caused suspicion. I could see the other kids looking at me out of the corner of their eyes. I looked blankly back at all of them. I did not want to cause arguments. It seemed like it was unavoidable because next thing I know my chair has been knocked down and one of the bigger boys in the class was standing over me.

"You fink yer better than us, do ye?" he sneered, spitting on the floor beside him. I mean yes- but I wasn't going to tell him that. No need for a death wish after all. Instead, I looked at him blankly, refusing to show my fear. This, instead of placating him like I hoped, angered him further. He raised a fist and I grit my teeth preparing for a world of pain because there was no way in hell I was fighting him back.

And, of course, the teacher chose that moment to walk in.

He couldn't have come in a few minutes earlier when I was simply sitting on my lonesome. No, he had to come in when I was on the floor, fist poised to attack over my head and a crowd of kids looking on in excitement. Great. Just what I wanted.

So, I was stuck on the floor in despair when the teacher (note: shinobi, SHINOBI, teacher) calmly walks over and pulls the other boy away. The boy didn't even struggle, and I felt a tiny bit sorry for the boy because of the look of fear on his face- But I don't really care that much. I don't know him. I'm not helping.

"What's going on here?" the teacher (What's his name? What's his name?!) asks calmly and I think I could detect a thread of amusement in his voice. Because of course, he does. He has fought in wars and a spat between two civilian children is nothing in the grand scale of things. I just look on in slight shock as the boy precedes to tell the shinobi why he was about to attack me. What a little rat. I feel anger rise as the tattler tries to make it seem as if it is all my fault but I don't take action on the anger. Instead, I take the time to look over at our sensei for the next two weeks.

He has dark brown hair and eyes, which are not that note-worthy. He is dressed in the ninja garb that I see them wear while on duty from time to time. His plate was on his forehead, a place where most shinobi put theirs. Really if not for the garb I would've not thought much of him except for the scar on his face.

It ran from one cheek to another in a straight line. It was obviously a cut from a kunai as I had seen the results from knife wounds and they were much less…clean. It made me wonder where he had got it. It wouldn't have been around the village, so he must have fought in the war. It was probably painful, and I wondered if it throbbed and when it did what memories it brought with-

"Ahem." I look up sharply in the direction of the voice. I look straight into the ninja's eyes. He smiles sheepishly. "If you're quite done looking at my face," a loud ooh sound comes from the crowd and I look down, my cheeks flushed red, "do you know why Enki here attacked you?" so Enki was the rat's name.

I look up blankly and before I can stop myself my mouth answers for me. "Do you think I am fooled to believe a shinobi like you would even give a shit?" I can see his eyes widen and I quickly slap my hands over my mouth. Well great. Well done mouth. It was nice knowing you. I flinch back slightly but to my, and I'm sure the other's, surprise he laughs. I look up at his eyes slightly wide. Nice. I had to talk to the insane ninja.

He pats me on the head, an action which I quickly shrink away from, and wipes a few tears from his eyes. "It's been awhile since I met a civilian kid with spunk!" he lets out one last laugh and turns around to the rest of the class. "Okay everyone, come and sit down…" I space out for a second, in disbelief I even survived, then shake my head and quickly hurry to find a seat.

I have not had much interaction (any) with ninja and especially not the insane kind. I feel some tension leave my body. Maybe this lesson could be interesting after all.

-0-0-0-

Ok yeah, scratch that. This lesson was even more boring than Hagimori-sensei's. At least with Hagimori-sensei, I learnt something. Here all "Iruka-sensei", if that was even his real name, talked about was how great shinobi were and how great it was to be a shinobi. Which, judging from what I had heard and the scar on his face, didn't seem to me to be true.

The worst part about it was that some of the kids were believing it! In fact, it wasn't even "some" kids it was most of them! Only the most street smart and cynical ones remained unconvinced, sitting like me- completely uninterested. I was ashamed of the amount of kids that I had previously heard fearing the shinobi, now interested in being one. Maybe it was the fact I had been brought up on horror stories that I didn't believe any of it but still!

I can still remember the most horrific one I was told. One of the main reasons for my distrust. The shinobi had convinced one of their own to die.

' _Settle down kids. Okay, okay. I'll tell you a story if ya be hearin' of it. It ain't a nice un but I be thinking that it is time you hear it._

 _Once, about 20 ago if in I be remembering correctly, there was a man. He was a famed shinobi. They called him the "White Fang" coz he was said to be as powerful as a wolf in battle. He was as powerful as the Hokage and just as well known and adored. But then it all changed._

 _It was a time of war. The villages had become increasingly hostile t'wards each other. Hostile meaning, they hated each other. It was a time of great distrust. Loyal shinobi left, and right were becoming traitors. The Hokage chose White Fang and a couple of other shinobi for a v'ry important mission. I dunno what it was coz it is "classified." However, from what I 'eard White Fang chose his fellow shinobi over completing the mission._

 _Now have ye ever bin to one of the 'okage's speeches. Yeah, it is linked to the story. Hold yer horses. D'ya know what he always talks 'bout. Yer right. The Will of Fire._

 _What is the Will of Fire? It's hard ta explain. I'll tell ya another time. But one of the main things about the Will of Fire is teamwork, that sometimes completing a mission is less 'portant than yer fellow man. Keep this in mind fer the next part._

 _When White Fang returned from his mission he hadn't completed it, His teammates were on the edge of death and he saved their lives. But the mission hadn't been completed._

 _Let me explain somethin'. Our villages were on the brink of war. There was no way around it. Not with the shinobi raring for war. Speaking their words n' such._

 _White Fangs mission was a coupla months from the start of the war but it was the closest important mission to the start of the war. So he became the scapegoat, the person everyone blamed. Even the teammates he saved turned on White Fang. It got so bad that he couldn't even shop. His own son turned on him._

 _Us civilians didn't care. Only the most important civilians cared but they were only ones that White Fang saw. Keep this in mind as well._

 _One day his son found him on the carpet of his office dead. He killed 'imself. The man that had done nothin' but serve the village was killed by the shinobi he worked so hard to protect. There was a massive funeral for the man. Every shinobi that'd hurt him said their prayers. They acted like they 'ad done nothin' wrong. So with the shinobi pretendin', it weren't them who was blamed. They blamed the civilians of course._

 _I didn't go to the funeral so I dunno what happened but one day I could walk in the street with shinobi no problem and the next day I wasa bein' pushed 'round and called a murderer, which is ironic really._

 _It seems they made a conscious effort to forget the man. Y'all won't see no shinobi mention the man and when you do ya can tell by the glares at yer back._

 _I can see you are all saddened by ma tale but don't be. T'is nothin' ta be sad about. It's jus' a fact of life. Listen ta me. Yer can't trust the shinobi. Whatever they say means nothin'. They will be yer friend day and then call yer a murderer the next. Ya don't mean nothin' to them. Simple cannon fodder. Be wary around shinobi. If nothin' else, you learn that…'_

I still have a vivid memory of that day. I had thought about it all night but even with indignation fired in my stomach, there was nothing I could do. I glared around the class. They were as foolish as the shinobi in the story. Believing words at point blank with no thought about looking underneath the words, underneath the masks that people wear.

I was obviously getting attention by glaring around the room. A quiet muttering started as kids looked at me with questions clear in their eyes. I didn't notice until Iruka-sensei called out my name.

"Cheree," I looked up suddenly, slightly startled, "is there a reason you're glaring around the room?" He pretended to look around, making some students nervously giggle. I made my face carefully blank. "Has the room done something to you Cheree?" he asked, his condescending glance making me tighten my knuckles.

"No, Iruka-sensei. Sorry, Iruka-sensei." My reply is terse, and I can hear the anger in my voice but Iruka-sensei turns around, satisfied and went back to talking to the rest of the class. I glare at my lap but refrain from glaring at anything but for the rest of the lesson, I don't want to be caught out again.

Eventually, he lets us go for the day reminding us that, yes, he'll be there tomorrow. When I get outside I breath in the fresh air and feel a bit of tension out of my shoulders. I can hear other kids talk about how "cool and hot that teacher was!" I do not partake in that and try and ignore the idiots. It seems I can't for long though as the next thing I know I am face down in the mud.

I can hear kids around me laugh as I wipe mud out of my face. I look up and see Enki sneering down at me. I just stare at him. This time he doesn't try to punch me he just walks off. I watch him as he retreats but I don't bother to try and stand. I stay in the mud and listen to the other kids walk off muttering about "that weirdo! Thinks she's so cool... What a bitch!"

When they are all gone I still can't find the energy to stand up. The mud makes my skin itch but what even is the point of standing up. I'll die one day. I'm not important or noteworthy, no history will remember me. Tomorrow I would have to face the same shit and I wouldn't be able to retaliate. I wanted to curl into the fetal position, but I still had some dignity.

"Why are you sitting in the dirt?" a bright voice asks behind me. I jump up instantly suspicious but when I turn up I see a blond-haired girl looking at me weirdly. I take her in for a minute. She is about 12/13.

She looks like a civilian, but my senses scream ' _Shinobi, shinobi!'_ Her posture is too self-important. Most people around here walked slouch, as to avoid attention but she walked with her back straight and head held high. The second thing was her clothes. They were obviously expensive and well made. The third and most obvious were her eyes. They were weird and slightly creepy, with no pupils, not something I had ever seen on a civilian.

"Hello?" she says. I then realise I had been looking at her for a few minutes like I did with Iruka-sensei and- wow I really needed to stop that. I reddened and began twisted my jacket. I looked up and met her creepy eyes silently.

"Okay…" she said. I think she rolled her eyes, but I am not sure. I frown at her. Rude much? "Wow this place is a dump!" she exclaimed animatedly. I glared at her.

"Oh well, sorry your highness," I said dryly before I could think. She turned sharply to me. I had no doubt she heard me. ' _Mouth, you and I are having a discussion later.'_

"What was that?" she said indignantly. I closed my mouth and looked at her in silence. Oh, so now my mouth follows my orders.

Iruka peers his head out the door. "What's going on out- oh hello Ino why are you here?" he asks. So Ino was the snob's name. She huffs and turns her head towards him.

"Iruka when will you be back. The teacher we have at the moment is really strict and boring!" she whines. I look at her with a mix of amusement and horror. So this was the generation that would be taking over the village next.

Oh, joy.

"Ino I'll be back in 2 weeks. I think you can last until then." Ino huffs and then turns towards me.

"Why are you still here?" she asks, looking at me down her nose. I am beginning to hate her. The girls and boys in my class annoy me but they are better than this brat but she is still going to get more chances in life just because she is a ninja. But then again she is a ninja so I wisely don't say anything… is what I would say if my mouth didn't beat me to it.

"Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry your highness. I'll leave your holy presence." I spit the last bit out and glare at her. I freeze, however at the glare on her face. It looks like she might murder me. She takes a step towards me.

"Why you-" she begins. I look at her and then run away.

I don't think I have ever run so fast but my feet keep going, diving between streets. When I finally stop I sob slightly out of shock. I slide down the wall I am standing against and sob quietly. I just had to go against every warning I have received. I have two shinobi's attention. Why? Why was this fair that she got a better life than any of the kids I knew who would beg to have a life even slightly like hers.

As my tears start to dry my resolve hardens. Life is not fair but it does not mean I can't change it. Why should I sit and suffer while I am being squashed down beneath those who are not trustworthy? Why should I listen blindly? Why should I try and divert attention away from myself and try not to be heard? No. No more. I would change it.

I had to.


	4. Chapter 3

[Third Person P.O.V]

The shinobi stood before his Hokage, head down in a bow.

"It's okay. You can rise Iruka." the Hokage chuckled. Iruka rose suddenly, cheeks tinted slightly red. The Hokage cleared his throat and continued in a more serious tone. "Have you found some possible recruits Iruka?" The shinobi teacher nodded, nose wrinkled in confusion.

"I have Hokage-sama," the Hokage smiled at Iruka. Less and less civilians were becoming shinobi. It wasn't like they were actually needed but without the civilian portion of the shinobi it would seem like Konoha didn't find them necessary. The Hokage had not got this far ignoring all the civilians. He could easily do that but the moral in the village would fall and that would not be a good thing. Sometimes the Hokage really hated the intricate political web that had been spun through the years.

It wouldn't just be moral but there was also a chance the civilian council would become annoyed and that would lead to unrest in the village. Nothing the Hokage couldn't handle but it would mean a portion of his shinobi would be busy. The Hokage sighed.

"U-um Hokage sama," The Hokage raised an eyebrow at Iruka gesturing him to go on, "If I may, why did you send me to a civilian school for one day to look for recruits if you are just going to knock it down anyway?" after finishing his question Iruka seemed rather flustered. The Hokage smiled warmly at Iruka.

"That's a good question." Iruka looked up, face still slightly red, "However you don't have the clearance so all I can tell you is that we already have a better school for the children being built. One much better than that horrid building where they were before. You're dismissed." Iruka nodded and then left. After he left the Hokage smiled.

What he told Iruka was a lie. The reason they were destroying the school was so that the only place the recruits could go was the academy. They would see it as the best and lowest cost option. They would Come to the academy and plead for them to be allowed in. If they were the recruits that were being scouted then they would be allowed in if not, they would be let in any way and still have to pay afterwards when their child failed. It had worked every other time the Hokage had done it. The civilians weren't as individual as they thought. Now all he had to do was wait.

[Cheree P.O.V]

I walked into class with my head held high. Unlike yesterday when I was nervous and skittish today I was fully ready and I had a new mindset along with it. No longer would I stay silent and not voice my thoughts. I would be ready for Iruka-sensei and any brats that came to visit him. I may have looked arrogant to anyone that looked but I didn't mean to I just wanted to show that I would be silenced no longer. I was actually excited to see the man because there was so much information I could garner and use when I was older to prove my point.

When I came in smiling I met the eyes of the cynics. They looked at me with disappointment clear in their gazes but I wasn't deterred. I had to learn everything I could. It didn't make sense to them, but It did to me. I would learn everything so that when I was older maybe I could use that information to make my points and improve society. To make the change that I wanted to see.

I sat down and stared out the window, looking out for Iruka-sensei. But he didn't come. In fact, no-one came. I was confused, just as the rest of the class were. Where was Iruka-sensei? And, if he wasn't coming, where was Hagimori-sensei? I ended up waiting for the whole day for someone to come. As time went by it became more and more clear that no one was coming. Most of the kids in the class just left. I didn't blame them. I wanted to leave but I was also curious. So I stayed. I stayed the whole day and a little after closing time as well, but no-one came.

In the end, I left. It had become clear that no-one was coming way before I left. When I did I looked around for some clue andy clue why the school was closed for the day. There wasn't even a note.

When I left the school I felt resentment pool in my heart. It just isn't fair! Did they think we weren't worth teaching or was it something else?! Was there someone more important? And my biggest question was to myself, why the hell did you think you could make a difference?

-0-0-0-

The next day I went to school. I'm not sure what I expected. Maybe there would be some kind of explanation as too why there were no teachers at our school yesterday? I shook my head bitterly. It wasn't even slightly likely. Why would I think that they would give us an explanation when they clearly didn't give a shit about us. Still, my curiosity prevailed and I found myself wandering to school anyway.

I, apparently, wasn't the only one who was confused about the whole thing. When I looked around there were a couple of kids walking near me, wearing twin frowns of betrayal and disappointment. The sad thing was I wasn't even that surprised at the events. It was clear they weren't either.

As I neared the gates I could hear loud voices yelling. I frowned, confused. It didn't sound like there were just kids shouting either. I could definitely hear some adults shouting their voices into the air. When I reached within viewing distance of the school my jaw dropped in shock. Whatever I expected to see that was certainly not it.

A huge crowd of angry civilians surrounded a gate. The gate was guarded by a very annoyed looking shinobi. He obviously did not want to be there but he was not the thing that caught my eye. No, that prize went to the school. Or should I say the husk of the school? That was all it was. There was practically nothing left of it! I stood, frozen, for a few seconds before rushing over to the gate. I pushed through a huge crowd until I was standing in front of the shinobi.

"-last time, there was no more funding!" his voice rang out over the crowd, making them grow even angrier. With all the shouting the thing that caught my attention was a lady standing next to me. She was plain looking, quite old and well off all things considered but it was her words that made me turn my head in her direction.

"So you're saying you burnt down this school. A school meant to teach students how to survive in the future. You burnt that down to make room for another hospital which, mind you, most of these children can't afford to use?" her voice was low and cold. She stated it like a fact but her voice was so powerful that the crowd turned towards her. After she was finished she shook her head slowly. "What a sorry, sorry state this village is in." she tutted before walking away leaving me staring at her in awe.

The shinobi was instantly bombarded with question after question. I almost felt dory for the man. Almost. All I had to do however was to look being him at the building we once called a school and my anger was back. I stood in the crowd as it grew in size and power. I felt such hatred to the village, like never before. I could hear the same anger in the voices of others but I could also hear their confusion. Why were they doing this? I thought they were supposed to protect us? Then suddenly a scream went up from somewhere in the middle of the crowd and the area was suddenly silent. People began to back away from the place where the scream was emitted giving me a good view.

It wasn't a nice sight that much was for certain. A man in a rabbit mask was holding a kunai to the throat of a man. The man was terrified and his small daughter was holding his leg. The rabbit masked man didn't seem to care though he dug the kunai deeper into the man's throat.

"P-please. L-let me go!" the man cried. There were no tears on his face but you could hear the fear and terror in his voice. "I swear I haven't done anything! I-I'm a good citizen please-" he coughed, blood spewing out of both his mouth and throat. His daughter began crying even harder than before. "I have a daughter. She h-has no mom. She'll die!" But it was too late. Even I, with my minimal experience, could see that the man was already dead. As if to finish off the job the rabbit man passed a kunai through the man's throat, completely removing his head from his body.

It was so silent that a pin could be heard dropping. Everyone stared in horror at the severed head. The rabbit man raised it into the sky as if to show his power. "This is what happens to those who try and break the rules that are put in place." He said in a quiet voice., though I could hear the pleasure in it. His pleasure at feeling powerful. I could hear other people gagging but I was too transfixed in my horror to do anything but stare. "Now scram!" his words were the last he said before gathering the body and leaving in a swirl of leaves.

People around me rapidly left, faces pale and ashen. I looked to see the shinobi behind me smiling. He was happy. Happy at the death of an innocent. I still didn't move, just looking at the crying child on the floor. She'd had her dad torn away from her for nothing. I wanted to hug her.

Suddenly I was ripped from my thoughts by something kicking the back of my shins. I looked up to see the shinobi staring down at me. "Why aren't you leaving? You heard his words. Scram!" he made shooing motions with his hands and I glared at him but ignored him.

Slowly I walked up to the girl and placed a hand on her back. She looked up at me, her tear streaked face dirty and just so sad. I knelt down beside her and looked her in her eyes. She couldn't be any older than three.

"What's your name?" I said. She looked at me and I didn't think she was going to answer but she choked it out.

"My n-names Kasumi. My d-daddy gave it to me. H-he said I'm named after h-his mommy." She is bawling her eyes out at this point. I can't blame her. I would be too.

"Well Kasumi," I took her small hands in mine, "My name's Cheree. I think I have somewhere you can stay." She looked up at me. Her face just spoke of distrust. Even at 3, she had still been taught to wary about strangers. Before she could interrupt me I picked her up and hoisted her onto my back. I didn't want to stay here any longer than necessary, especially as I had now gained the attention of the shinobi behind me.

"Come on, I'll take you somewhere safe." With the shinobi glaring at me I marched off, head held high. I wasn't intimidated by him. I flicked my hair and continued walking away from him. With one last sneer in my direction, he too disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

-0-0-0-

[Third person P.O.V]

It was mid-morning and the Hokage had already gone through most of his paperwork when a large swoop of wind distracted him.

The Hokage looked up as an ANBU in a Rabbit Mask appeared before him holding the body of a random civilian. The Hokage looked at the ANBU operative who nodded.

"The job is done sir!" he said in an emotionless tone. The Hokage smiled and dismissed him. All that was left to do now was publically apologize for Rabbits actions. The Public would see the Hokage in a good light knowing he had "punished" the ANBU operative. Like always the plan had gone off seamlessly. Civilians. So predictable. He chuckled slightly and shook his head.

-0-0-0-

[Cheree P.O.V]

It has been 4 months since that day. I still have nightmares about it as do some of the other kids who bore witness to the horrific crime. Sometimes I wake up and I can hear their screams tear the night into noise. There wasn't much we could but get over it. It wasn't as if we could afford therapy or even remotely trusted the shinobi behind the therapy.

Kasumi's dad was right. As much as we tried to help she didn't last long. A few weeks after I brought her back she died of a high fever. I stayed with her until she died and I can still remember her last words as if it happened yesterday.

 _Her empty eyes stared into mine. They were glazed over like she was looking at me but also not at the same time. "Cheree?" she whispered, little voice groaning with the pain of speaking._

" _Yes?" I whispered in a cracked voice. She fumbled around for a second, moving her hands spastically until they found mine. When our hands connected she clenched mine tight. I held hers back._

" _When I die will I see mommy and daddy again?" her excited voice broke my heart in half. I squeezed her hands._

" _Yes, you will. When you die you go to paradise, a place where nothing is bad. It is full of nice people and love and happiness-" my voice broke as I choked back tears, "-like you've never felt before. An angel helps you get there and when you do your Mom and Dad will be waiting for you." She looks at me in the eyes._

" _What's an angel?" she asks looking at me and smiling in awe. I squeezed her hands again._

" _An angel is a human-like creature. They have massive white wings like a swan. They are kind and nice and loving. They have all sorts of power and they make everything better." I whisper. I can tell she is close to dying. Her breaths are raspy and shallow._

 _She hums slightly and looks up at the ceiling. "Are you an angel?" I look at her in shock. She turns her gaze towards me. "All you need are wings. Then you'd be an angel." She says it firmly like there is no room for argument. Then she turns her eyes towards the ceiling and breathes loud raspy painful sounding breaths._

 _I smile sadly. "I'll be your angel if you want." she uses her last bit of energy to nod._

" _I'd like that." She slurs and then just like that she is gone. Her grip on my hand falters. It is still warm, but I can feel the heat leave it. I stroke her stiffening face and close her eyes, tears building up in my eyes._

" _I'm far from an angel Kasumi."_

The next day we burnt her body. She didn't even get a funeral or a gravestone. She was just burnt. We said a goodbye and then whoosh. It was like she never existed. Like there never was a Kasumi-chan.

Even as I think about It I can feel tears rise in my eyes. She was a sweet girl. Even when she was hurting, in the brief few weeks I knew her, she tried to make everyone happy. She seemed to like me the best, but she was wrong. I am no angel.

Even if I was, even the devil was once an angel.


	5. Chapter 4

I ran down a small side street. My pockets were stuffed with goods that I was ready to take back to the orphanage. We had quite a tough time there recently. Quite a few of the other children had fallen sick and, with winter on its way, it was unlikely they were going to get better any time soon. It was up to me and a couple of others to get the goods for the orphanage. It was good to be helping them, but I still felt worry grip my heart at the thought of those sick in bed. It reminded me so much of Kasumi, but I tried to stay hopeful for them even though it was doubtful they would even see next week.

I blew my hair out of my face and began my treacherous path back to the orphanage. I say treacherous because it was likely that the goods would be squashed as I tried to make my way around the street. There was a chance that some would survive being squashed but we needed all the food as possible in time for winter. There would be a time in the winter where it would be too hard to go outside, be it snowing or flooding, and we had to have a backup.

So, I carefully made my way around the huge crowds of people. Somehow the crowds seemed larger today than usual. I looked around in confusion for anything that may be the source of the crowds, but I see nothing out of the ordinary. I don't have time to find out anyway. It posed slight problem anyhow. I just kept my gaze down and tried to avoid being trampled on. Luckily the crowd was mostly made up of shinobi. Odd since I wouldn't expect them in this area but good because they were far more mindful then any of the civilians that shopped here.

"Hey!" I ignore the shout from next to me. It is most likely not directed at me anyway. I am not important in this crowd and it's not like I know anyone who is in this crowd today.

"Hey!" I ignored the shout again even though it seemed to be following me. I continued keeping my head down and my feet moving quickly.

"Helloooo!" I flinch back slightly as a large hand is waved in front of my face. I follow the hand up the arm to the body and up to the face of the owner. I see a very…orange boy. He has bright blond hair and is smiling a hundred watt smile that is making my eyes hurt. I glance up quickly and see a plate on his head. So, he's a shinobi then. I can't help but glare at him. I know he is not Rabbit Mask, but I can't help but remember… I shake my head.

He certainly doesn't look like a shinobi. For one he's wearing an orange jumpsuit and not the butt ugly green vests and for another why would a shinobi be asking for the attention of a child like myself. Unless he saw me steal the bread in which case, I gulp and move my body to run just in case, I'd have to escape quickly and hope he doesn't know the streets like I do.

"Hey, are you alright dattabayo? You look like you've seen a ghost!" I blink at his question. He's looking down at me, his head tilted to the side. I shake my head and then look at him.

"M okay mister," I answered quietly. Can you blame me though? An orange jumpsuit wearing shinobi is scarier than one would expect. I realise that he probably didn't see me steal the food and I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Uh okay…" he seems hesitant and he scratches his head sheepishly, still smiling. "Do you know where the stadium is. I'm late and it's important that I get there. Kami, Sakura's gonna kill-" I ignore his rambling. The stadium? I frown hard for a second. What's the stadium? I stay puzzled for a few moments until I realise what he is talking about and I have to try not to facepalm. Of course! I know what he's talking about. It was a really broke down building and there has been building works there for the past few months. I assumed it was important, but I wasn't sure why. If he called it the stadium… Maybe there's a show there?

I realise I've been quiet for a few minutes and look up. To my surprise, the guy is still talking. Does he ever shut up!? I clear my throat and he looks at me in confusion, as if forgetting I was ever there.

"Follow me shinobi-san." I can see him puff up slightly in pride at being shinobi-san and I try really hard not to roll my eyes. I just grab his arm and drag him after me. I don't realise what I am doing until a few seconds go by and I am hit with an epiphany. I am dragging an orange jumpsuit ninja who could easily kill me without a second glance. I can feel a chuckle rise and I shove it back down. I don't want the shinobi thinking I'm a nutter.

After a few minutes, I get bored and spare a glance at the orange ninja. He isn't even looking at me. He's just looking around like a baby duckling, wide-eyed and curious. He seems to be taking in all the sights. It's just a good thing I am taking him towards the stadium and not somewhere in the other direction. With this kind of reaction, he would be killed, ninja or no.

Finally, after a few more minutes of lugging the ninja behind me, I stop at the building he called the stadium. He nearly crashes into me at our sudden stop. I try hard to stop myself from rolling my eyes. So far, from what I had seen of all the new ninja generation, I wasn't feeling hopeful for the future. It just made me angrier that these were the children that were given hopes and dreams and the ones that deserved it (Kasumi…) were left in the dust to live and die unimportant.

"Well, here we are," I said in a tense voice, just about holding in my anger. He smiles at me, still sheepish.

"Thank you dattebayo!" he said smiling. I smiled weakly and was about to walk away when he called out to me. "Wait!" I turned my head slightly to see him waving at me frantically, "What are you doing going that way?! You should come and watch the exams!" I look at me with a dry expression. Did he really think I had the time, money or care to go to the- "Here!" he shoves a ticket into my hand and I look at him in confusion. "This is your thanks for getting me here!" He begins to run away shouting one last thing at me. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! Keep an eye on me! One day I'll be Hokage!" and then he disappears inside.

As soon as he leaves my eyesight I drop the ticket into the dust and watch as it is covered in dust. I would never be happy to go and watch a competition to support a ninja of all things. I shake my head as a loud cheer rises from the audience. I wouldn't feel happy knowing there are people suffering back at the orphanage while I sit on my fat butt and watch a show to show support for a ninja. I stamp once more on the ticket for good measure and head home.

-0-0-0-

I have been walking home for about 15 minutes when I first get a hint that something is wrong. My first clue is how quiet it has suddenly got. Even with this distance away from the stadium I had been able to hear the crowd up until a couple of seconds ago where it just cut off.

My second is the feeling in the air. I'm not sure what it is but it makes me feel like something is coming to kill me. It is coming from a distance away, but I still feel it permeating the air and scaring me. I have faced terror before, sure. But never on this level. Still holding onto my goods, I grip them tighter.

In the corner of my eye, I see movement. I turn my head quickly. I can't be sure, but I think that I saw a man in black come close to me. From the quick glance, I got it looked like he was tying some kind of knot- but that couldn't be right. I shift uneasily and hurry forward. I don't run because that would gain his attention, but I do hurry down a side street.

Once down the side street I instantly feel better. I'm not sure what it was but the feeling like something was trying to kill me has gone and I feel so light and happy. I feel like I should be celebrating which is somehow scarier than the feeling of death that was there a few minutes ago.

I shift my eyes left and right to check that there is nothing there. I am now on high alert. I'm not sure what that Shinobi was doing or what was going on at the stadium but that wasn't my problem. I just had to get the goods home and, more importantly, not die.

I took a moment to breathe before continuing. That was my downfall as, not a moment later, the building behind me exploded and the world turned black.

-0-0-0-

When I opened my eyes, the world was grey. I opened my mouth to call out but all that happened was dust entering my body, causing me to hack and cough. I could barely breathe. I tried to move but, to my horror, my left leg wasn't responding. I could feel tears of the fear pool out of my eyes. No matter how much I talked about not caring I didn't want to die.

I tried to scream again but that just ended in me getting more dust in my throat and coughing more. That was it coughing-

-and screaming

-move, I can't, why can't I?

-Goddamnit

I fell my eyes closing and-

Don't fall asleep!

But I'm so tired and the ground so comfortable-

Arms lifting me up-

-I need to struggle. Get away!

But a soft voice.

"It's okay. I've got you."

Blackness.


	6. Chapter 5

When I opened my eyes, everything was white. It wasn't a blinding light or anything it was just the colour of the room. I was lying on a white bed in a room with white walls with white lights shining down.

"Am I dead?" I mutter to myself. I am a little groggy so not all my senses have recovered yet. I also can't feel my body. I don't know why but I am still too tired and groggy to panic.

"Well, I would certainly hope not! Took a lot to keep you in the land of the living!" a jolly voice answers. I start slightly at the loud voice. Usually, it would be enough to wake me up but, even though my senses do sharpen somewhat, my head is still swimming, and I feel so tired…

"Where am I then?" I whisper, my voice sounding hoarse even to my own ears. I wince slightly. My voice has never sounded like that before and it is sort of scary.

"Oh, you're at the hospital sweetie." I flinch again at her loud words and my brain slowly registers her answer. And when I say slowly I do mean slowly. It feels like my brain is floating in water. My senses are all dulled and even my voice doesn't sound right.

"Hospital?" I slur slowly, my eyes closing even as I speak. The bed is very comfortable, and I feel myself sinking into it.

"Yes, now get some rest. You need it to get better!" I nod my head slowly. Yes. Rest. That does sound like a very good idea. And before I even finished closing my eyes I was out like a light.

-0-0-0-

The next time I opened my eyes the room was completely dark. Everything was so much clearer this time around. My head was less groggy, and I could focus without my mind going back to thinking about falling asleep.

Now, where was I…? Oh, right yes. The hospital. I wonder how I got here. I don't usually have luck, but it seems I got lucky this time. I still don't know what injuries I got from the explosion. I had only done a bit of light reading on the subject in the past. My lungs may have been damaged from the ash but, since I was breathing unaided, I assumed that wasn't a big problem. What I was really concerned about was my leg. I still couldn't feel it properly. I knew it was there, but it was so numb.

Heart fluttering, I tore off the covers. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that my leg was still there. It would be quite hard trying to fend for myself with only one leg. But just because it wasn't amputated didn't mean there were no problems. It was completely covered in gauze and bandage. It felt so heavy. I wondered what it looked like under the bandage.

I sighed and lay back down. Even with such a small amount of time awake, I was still beat. When I lay my head on the pillow I could feel my eyes close. I didn't even bother fighting the sleep. I knew that would do more harm than good in the end. So, I just let the sleep come and the blackness surrounds me in its gentle embrace.

-0-0-0-

The next time I was awoken I was jostled awake. As soon as I opened my eyes I couldn't help the small groan that slipped past my lips. I was so numb and heavy, and it hurt. My brain was running too slowly to even try and function. All it knew was that something wasn't right.

"…awake." I heard snippets of voice, but they made no sense to me, my brain not even trying to formulate them into the sentences I'm sure they came out as.

"…should not be." I groaned again. It hurt. I didn't know where it hurt it just did. I wanted it to stop. Stop. Stop.

"give her more…" I couldn't help it as a small scream ripped out of my throat. It felt like a burning fire as it erupted out into loud noise. Why did it hurt? Stop. No, no please stop. Stop!

"quick get the…" I whimpered as my body was jostled around more. It hurt so much I didn't even notice a needle being stuck into my arm.

Then it was silent.

Then the chaos was gone.

Then it was sleep.

-0-0-0-

The next time after that I remember waking up I was not the only one in the room. As my eyes slowly opened I could see someone sitting on a chair looking at me. They had a clipboard in their hands and were furiously writing on it.

"Hello?" I tried to say, though it came out more like "hlo?". I must've caught her attention as she stood up suddenly staring at me. I stared back, my glazed eyes not even slightly comprehending what was going on.

"She's awake!" came a loud yell from the nurse. At least it sounded like a yell to me. It was probably little more than a whisper.

"Noise," I whispered, covering my ears. It hurt to hear something so loud. I'm not sure why it just did. The nurse hurries over to me kneeling beside the bed and looking at me with a concerned gaze.

"I'm sorry honey. Does the noise hurt?" she whispered. I whimpered pathetically in agreement. "Hang in there someone's on the way." She whispers comfortingly.

She's right because not a second later another nurse arrives in the room, trailing a huge machine behind her. She immediately jams something into my arm and once again I fall back into the realm of sleep.

-0-0-0-

When I next awakened I could finally think properly. It was relieving, if I'm honest, to have my brain back in commission. I didn't work very well without it.

The first thing I notice is an annoying beeping sound. It is constant, and I find myself becoming increasingly agitated by the infernal noise. I turn my head to try and find the source and see a huge machine. It has a bunch of lines spiking on it. I recognized it as a heart machine. But who was it connected to? I follow the wire down and see it connected to…

Me.

I start to panic, and the beeps increase. The fact I have a fucking heart machine of all things connected to me is extremely telling. If they were that worried I was going to die I must be more injured than I thought.

"Are you okay?" I slowly turn my head to the owner of the voice. Apparently, I was not the only one to hear the annoying beep machine as there is a nurse staring at me, a worried look on her face.

"M fine." I slur. I smile slightly at her and she looks relieved. She comes over to me and helps me sit up, which I'm thankful for because, as much as I love sleeping, there is such a thing as too much sleep.

"I'll leave you for a few minutes. I'm just going to get another nurse, okay?" I nod at her and she rushes out of the room. That's the thing with nurses. Always in a rush. Not that I'm surprised I mean sometimes a second is all it takes between someone surviving and dying.

For a couple minutes, I am left in silent just taking in the room. It is still as bland as when I first woke up. However, when I look to my side I see a card on the table. Slowly I reach a hand out and pick up the card, aware of how tense my muscles are. Squinting, I begin to read.

 _Hello,_

 _I hope you get well soon. Do not worry about the cost. I have covered it. Just focus on recovering for now._

 _Love,_

 _[blank]_

I blink at the card re-reading it a couple of times. I don't even know who the lady/man is who sent the card. I needed to thank them but how would I do that if I didn't know who did it? I frowned in annoyance. Well, at least I didn't have to worry about the cost.

I quickly put down the card when two nurses enter the room. One is the same as before and the other is much older and looks much stricter. If I made a bet I would reckon that she was head nurse here, but I don't make bets.

I looked at the two of them in confusion and then the older one steps forward.

"Hello Cheree. It is good to see you up." I frown. How did she know my name? I would swear I didn't have a birth certificate, but it wasn't like I ever verified that fact. So instead I just respond with a simple nod.

"So far you have made an amazing recovery. I have never seen a non-ninja recover so fast." I smile. That's good maybe I'll be out soon. "However," my face falls once more, "Cheree it is not easy to tell you this, but it may be months before you can walk again."


	7. Chapter 6

I stared out the window, completely silent. Since the day I got the news I had been strangely quiet, even for me. I was too busy thinking. My brain was going a mile a minute and, to be honest, I really didn't know what to think. It was odd for me. With my life I never had time to think or stop and now I did I didn't even know what to do with myself.With the way I lived I was used to the quick roll of time, never knowing when life would begin or end. Advantages left and entered the scene quickly. Death would take with no warning. In Life there was no time for stopping. It was go and go and go. No time for grief or for thought. They would weigh you down, leave you worthless- a burden. And now here I was, sitting in a hospital bed for days on end doing nothing but stare out at the people outside living their lives.

Two months never seemed so long.

With the constant switch between consciousness and sleep I had no knowledge of how much time had passed since the attack. I would say about 3 weeks to a month but I wasn't sure. This guess was purely made by the damage of the buildings. It wasn't like this hospital was far from the stadium, where I heard that the attack began, so the state the buildings were in would make no sense if the attack was so recent. I honestly couldn't believe I hadn't asked a nurse yet but knowing them they wouldn't want to "traumatize" me and I would end up with the same amount of information I had at the beginning. So for now it was just me and the clues I had to make a rough estimate.

I sighed and rested back on the pillow. I couldn't even be bored properly it appeared. My brain just worked too quickly, used to fast paced situations. It wasn't just my brain, however, that lead to my inability to rest. I'm not sure why but there seemed to be a persistent sadness hanging over the village and I can still remember the distinct day, about a week ago, when every nurse came in wearing a black item, be it a scarf or other. It was an odd dissonance from the usual bright and cheery attitude of the place. I asked but they refused to tell me what happened. Even in the hospital I had no idea what was going on in this village.

I grumbled slightly under my breath. I was so bored. I had nothing to do but think. I didn't even have a book other than a basic picture book that I would not lower my intelligence and read. To matters worse, I was the only child in this ward. I would've thought there would've been another injured or otherwise incapacitated children but apparently not. Or at least the ones that were couldn't afford to pay for the treatment. Another reason to hate this village.

Even with my injury, that was hurting like a bugger, I had not forgotten the kids at the orphanage. When the attack happened most of them were sick and I had reckoned that some of them would not survive. I could only hope that they managed to get out in time and found somewhere to stay away from the orphanage, which I assumed was destroyed. It wasn't like I could just ask a nurse either. Not without revealing exactly where we lived. And that wasn't happening any time soon.

I felt bad. I knew it wasn't my fault but I still felt that I was in the wrong. I was in hospital, the healthiest and cleanest I had ever been in my life, while others around me were suffering with illnesses that could easily be fixed. The worst thing about it was that could do nothing in hospital. I was just a sitting egg doing nothing helping no one. I itched to be outside to be doing something...

However that wasn't the case and, with nothing else to do, I lay my head on the pillow and tried to fall asleep, my head still full of images of the sick kids.

-0-0-0-

I must've fallen asleep at some point for the next thing I know I start awake to the sound of somebody screaming.

Somebody who isn't me for once.

Opening my eyes I look around. The room is lit in a purple glow emitting from the twilight outside. I follow my ears to the source of the noise only to see it coming from a girl on a bed in the corner of the room. She seems to be a few years older than me but I can hardly tell as she is completely surrounded by nurses. She is thrashing around, as if struggling to escape, blond hair tangling and twisting around her face.

Suddenly my view is blocked by a looking shape. I look up to see a male nurse standing over me. He looks down at me with an almost emotionless look on his face. I feel slightly uncomfortable with the stare and I wriggle around slightly to get away from it.

"Go back to sleep Ms Tetsu." He says, his voice low and rumbly. I glower at him, not that I imagine it is very scary. Why is he making me sleep when there is (finally) someone arriving at the ward? I glare at him and try to peer around him. He simply looks at me impassively.

When he starts walking over to me I flinch back, hoping not to be hit. I didn't think he was going to hit me but I had been swatted at for less and he did look very intimidating.But he simply places two fingers on my neck. I look up at him in confusion.

"Goodnight Ms Tetsu." He says quietly. Then I feel something warm tingle my neck and I fall back into blissful sleep.

-0-0-0-

When I open my eyes again it is daylight. Daylight and silent. Eerily silent. I look over to the girl, expecting her to be asleep. To my surprise she is awake but just staring out the window.

I open my mouth to speak but she interrupts. "What do you want?" She asks quietly, in a tired voice. I frown at her.

"I just wanted to know my fellow ward mate." I said truthfully. I did actually want to know the person who I could be spending more than 2 months with. Although I was also curious as to why she was in hospital and a part of me wondered what information about the happenings in the village I could get from.her. To my words she just snorts and looks at me.

" Haha. Like someone like you would care about someone like me!" She says incredulously. I frown more at her words. Someone like me? As far as I know the only stereotypes on orphans were that they were constantly sad or whatever ( I didn't really listen to the gossip) but not anything else and certainly not that they were rude or pretentious. I mean some of them but- besides the point

"Someone like me?" I asked in confusion. This just seemed to annoy her further as she flips her hair and looks at me.

"Yeah, a little shinobi child like you." I stared at her taken aback. I have been mistaken for many things in my life but a shinobi child was certainly not one of them. I snort in amusement. This was a bad move as, almost instantly she leans forward aggressively in her bed.

"Oh you little shinobi child. You always think you're so clever and funny but you would never know what true hardship was. Not like me." She flicks her hair again, like being less fortunate was somehow a trump card? I stare at her.

"I'm not a-" I try to say but she cuts me off, continuing in her snooty tone.

" Yeah, you've got a family at home who payed for you but I have no one. Not a penny to my name. I d-dont even h-have a little brother anymore…" her voice breaks at the last bit and I can't can't help but feel sorry for her. I had lost people I considered family in the past and I knew how horrible it was.

"I'm sorry for your lost." I say softly. Maybe this will placate her or at the very least make her feel better. It doesn't seem to work though as the next words out her mouth are these.

"You're not though. Y-you're just a b-brat who has never seen the world. You will grow up and never have to face a hardship like m-m-me!" I can feel tears start to run down her face but I don't feel sorry for her anymore. (Maybe slightly sorry.) Instead I just feel disgusted.

I should feel sympathetic but I don't. This girl didn't know what my life was like. She just assumed since I was at the hospital that I was a shinobi child. She snapped at me when I did nothing to her. I thought that I would be able to sympathise with fellow civilians but apparently they were just as corrupted as the shinobi.

I hated shinobi too, more than most people anyway. However, unlike me, she was just going to sit and whine and complain instead of acting. She was going to blame the shinobi children for God's sake. They were annoying but they had done nothing but live. I didn't particularly like the way they treated others but it wasn't their fault where they were born just as it wasn't ours.

Whatever.

"And now you're gonna glare a-at me and be a big meanie-" oh now I see what she is doing. Trying to make the children feel sad because of something they couldn't control. How nice of her.

And then I can't hold in my anger.

"Shut up." I say quietly and coldly. She turns towards me eyes wide.

"What did you say?" She asks in a dangerous voice. I meet her in the eye emotionlessly.

"I'm sure you heard me." I say. She glares at me and then throws her head into the pillow.

She screams, this time in anger. "I hate you! It's all your fault and I'm never gonna see my brother again!" I tsk and look at the window.

As if I care about what she thinks.


	8. Chapter 7

I sighed and looked out of the window, my fingers twisting and turning the sheet beneath me. My nervous habit was back in full force. I could deal easily with boredom but anticipation was not something I was used to.

They were starting my physical therapy today.

And I was terrified.

I'm not even sure why I am so scared. What's the worst that could happen? Do they fix my leg? But, like so many times before, my brain goes off on a tangent. It imagines scenarios that would never happen.

' _But-'_

Stop.

' _But what if-'_

Stop!

' _What if this is a secret shinobi operation and they are going to kill you?!'_

I groan and grip my hair tight. I fall forward, my head falling onto the bed sheets with a large thump. I could feel the stares of the girl from the other side of the room but I couldn't care less. I stayed with my hands threaded through my hair, tying it into tight knots around my fingers, and my head face down on the bed. An uncomfortable position but one I was happy to keep.

"Cheree Tetsu-" I can feel the silence fall around the nurse as she rushes over to me. She places a large weathered hand on my back. "Are you alright Ms Tetsu?" she asks in a concerned voice.

"Just peachy," I mutter, muffled by thick bed sheets. I can sense the awkwardness as it descends around us. The nurse lets it stay with us for a few moments before lifting me with (surprisingly) strong arms.

"Well then. Right this way…" she says like I have a choice. I roll my eyes.

It's weirdly comfortable in the nurse's arms. I would expect them to be bony, but it seems like the padding on the uniform was there for a reason. Through half-lidded eyes, I take in the white halls of the hospital.

There isn't much of interest. In this peaceful era and with no civilians coming in the hospital was eerily silent. It was obviously over-staffed. I could see plenty of nurses standing around, sorting bedsheets for what must be the hundredth time and talking amiably.

I actually start to wonder how long these halls are when finally, we turn one last corner and enter a bright room. Around the edge, I can see multiple nurses and one girl younger than the rest of pink hair. I blink and stare at her. No. I was right. That was definitely pink hair.

I find myself set in the middle of the circle of nurses and my basic hospital robe removed. I have never been one for much humility, so I don't even try and cover up. They are all females anyway- and doctors at that.

I find myself flinching as someone places a cold clipboard on my lap. It has small complicated words that I don't even bother reading. The nurse clears her throat and I look up at her.

"Hello, my name is Dr Read. I will be the head of your treatment here." Her voice is clipped, tone no-nonsense and I get the feeling she has not had much experience with kids. She gestures with her hands to the kindly nurse who took me here and another nurse who I do not know, "Assisting me will be Dr Ryoka," the kindly nurse smiles at me, "and Dr Aoi." The aforementioned women doesn't look at me, staring ahead at the wall. Finally, Dr Read points at the shy pink haired girl next to her, "This is Dr Haruno. She will be observing some of our sessions." The girl nods hurriedly and gives me a small smile. "So, without any further nonsense, this is how your treatment will go…"

Dr Read breaks out into a long speech and I quickly zone out, nodding when I feel appropriate. Now I know she has not worked with kids before. I am advanced for my age but even most adults would struggle following what she was saying.

Finally, she finishes and reaches out her hand. I reach out mine, uncertain of what she wants. She clasps my tiny hand in her own and shakes it. Then, like a breeze, she is out of the room. The small pink haired one follows her as does Dr Aoi. The kindly nurse takes me into her arms.

As she takes me back to my room I can't help feeling tired. Her padded arms and the soft swaying motions aren't helping in the slightest. I quickly fall asleep and I get the strange feeling that the nurse may be smiling at me.

-0-0-0-

Loud noise is the first thing I hear. It is an odd squealing sound, like that of excitement. I reach a hand up to my ear and rub it, trying to rid it of the high pitched racket. When that doesn't work I groan and lift my body to look around and find the source of the noise.

Unsurprisingly it is coming from the girl. Since she arrived here a couple of days ago (wait how long have I been asleep?) she has been nothing but a pain. Through blurry eyes, I can just about make out two shapes. Wait two? That's can't be right! I shake my head and try and clear my eyes but all I see is clearer human shapes.

"Tomi!" she squeals. I mover my eyes and look at the second shape. As my eyes clear I can make out a boy. He seems a few years older than the girl. His hair is a blond mop on his head. His whole body is turned to the girl so I cannot see his face.

"Riko." He mutters fondly. She grins at him. In her grin, I can see none of the hate that was directed towards me. All I can see is love and companionship. Odd. They must be family or at least something of the sought.

Her expression sours when she sees me, the grin sliding off her face. She pouts angrily like I am interrupting something or bugging her.

"Oi! What are you looking at?!" she asks rudely. I seemed to have the attention of the boy too as soon I find myself under the gaze of two scrutinizing gazes. My mouth tilts up. They look like clones.

"One can't just enjoy the view in the morning?" I ask. I'm sure they can hear the amusement in my voice. The girl glares and the boy looks at me curiously.

"It's not morning, stupid!" the girl yells. She quickly glances at the boy to see his reaction and seems disappointed as he keeps looking at me curiously. I am just amused at the childish insult.

"Just coz you're used to your servants telling you things doesn't mean that I haveta!" I smirk. Ah. She still thinks I am a shinobi child. Interesting. I am opening my mouth to respond when the boy joins the conversation.

"What's this about servants?" he asks. His voice is cold, almost emotionless. I can't help myself as I flinch at his tone.

"Easy," the girl answers snootily, "She's a shinobi child a-and shes a b-big m-meanie!" I roll my eyes. Here come the crocodile tears. "She m-made fun of me about Miko!" Miko? I tilt my head and sift through my memories. I honestly can't remember her ever mentioning anyone called Miko.

"So you think it's fun to make fun of people over dead family?" I jump back in surprise as the boy leans over my bed and looks into my eyes, his own grey ones cold and piercing. I frown to myself. I had a sneaking suspicion this is how I came off to others. Wow another habit I needed to stop.

I can't speak, honestly scared for my own life. I shrink into the bed and try and hide from his gaze. He grins coldly at that. When I peer back over the covers he has finally receded, standing at the other side of the room and still glaring at me.

"You shinobi are all the same." He sneers. I almost roll my eyes again. Just what I need. Another needless complainer. Instead, I reach over with shaky hands over to the picture book and ignore them. My shaking hands and dignity are making it hard to read and see the pictures but I persist in ignoring them anyway.

That is how the rest of my evening goes. The two of them chat quietly, pretending I don't exist and I go back to staring out the window until the boy is told that visiting hours are over (thank fuck he's not permanent. I don't think I could deal with both of them) and he slinks out of the hospital, ever persistent cold stare on his face.

I roll my eyes. Glad he's gone.

-0-0-0-

That is how a whole month drifts by. They pretend |I don't exist and I do the same to them. I go to physical therapy for most days during visiting hours anyway.

Oh yes. Physical therapy. I can walk again. I didn't think it was possible but I am finally walking again- with a limp but still. It leaves me very tired when I try walking for too long but a couple more months at it and I will finally be ready to leave this palace of white walls and boredom.

I think I surprised them at how fast I healed. They kept going on about how I was the fastest non-shinobi at healing they had ever seen. I think that was a compliment but I'm not really sure. Sometimes I see Dr Aoi looking at me like an interesting lab specimen. I stick very close to Dr Ryoko when he is near.

The other doctors are nice, I suppose. The pink haired one is only in the room sporadically so I know very little about her. I almost feel sorry for her. She is young but has a permanent frown etched on her face. She tries to be happy for the patient's sake but I can see the bags under her eyes and can only imagine the heavy stress she is under.

Dr Read is slowly getting better at treating children. She has at least somewhat tried to dumb down her language. Now I can understand about 30% of what she is saying which is much better than the 0% of before.

Dr Ryoko has got to be the nicest shinobi I have ever met. She is kind to all the patients and doesn't treat any better than the others. She always tries to sneak in sweets to me and then winks about it later like we are sharing a big secret. She must be at least in her 50's but she is stronger than any civilian I have ever met. Oh well. Guess that is the joys of being a shinobi.

I am sitting in my bed staring at nothing per usual. I have slowly become used to the boredom. I don't think I have zoned out until a small tap on the shoulders has me turning around in surprise.

It's Dr Ryoko standing looking at me apologetically. She hands me a small envelope. "This came for you." I look at the envelope. I am curious as to who would send me a letter. I can't help but feel some excitement that maybe the orphanage has found where I am but I frown as I turn the letter over and my excitement turns to shock and then quickly into fear.

The envelope has the Konoha Shinobi crest on it. It is clear this is no letter from the orphanage.

 **[A/N]**

 **I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed followed and favourited. I hope you like what I have in store.**

 **Sometimes I feel sorry for my characters. I'm not the nicest author and I'm really bad at writing fluff. One thing is for certain- I would hate living as one of my characters. But on the other hand, I feel this is what Konoha is like.**

 **In Naruto, they only share what the shinobi world is like and I find that in a lot of FanFics that civilians are portrayed as stupid and dumb. Often the main character, usually as shinobi, will be caught by civilians and stopped by them and then curse them as dumb and entitled idiots.**

 **I, personally, don't think this is fair. The only civilians we have been shown is the council and to some extent Sakura. However, Sakura is not a normal civilian by any stretch of the word. Konoha seems to be a huge and diverse place and it is always a shame when I see Fics just stick to what we have always seen in the Anime and Manga.**

 **I am also a fickle person so it annoys me when the character is against being a shinobi and then somehow manages to make friend with one of the Rookie 9 and suddenly boom: I must protect my friends. Your telling me not one person in that situation would be selfish.**

 **Also, I feel that if it was realistic then the Rookie 9 would probably not give a shit about a small civilian and they would probably treat a knowledgeable and weird civilian as a spy or a threat. It seems fair considering that they are mostly all clan heirs and Sakura can't see past her massive forehead. (BTW I like Sakura and hate how she is bashed in most Fics but whatever.) Also, if Naruto really wanted to be Hokage he would have to be really loyal to the village and would be one of the first to tell someone about a threat?**

 **Anyway, that's just what I think. Do you think that civilians deserve such a bad rap? Do you hate the cliché of "Nice, sarcastic character makes friends with everyone but is secretly insecure"? Do you like what I have written so far? Leave a review.**

 _ **P.S I am aware most of these Fics are SI/OC and they would be like that but I am just tired of the clichés. People always forget this is a ninja village. Also, remember these are just my thoughts. I am typing this a 2 am so… If you think different that's fine, actually, that's great. Everyone thinking the same would be super dull.**_

 _ **I'm rambling. See ya!**_


	9. Chapter 8

Full of trepidation I slowly rip open the letter. The paper is thick and obviously expensive, nothing like the paper I was used to.

With shaking hands, I bring out the scroll inside and begin to read. In my peripheral I see the nurse leaning over my shoulder to see it clearer. I don't blame her. This letter is probably the most amount of gossip this hospital has gotten in years.

 _Dear Cheree Testsu,_

 _The shinobi council are delighted to invite you to the shinobi academy. In you, we have seen the skills necessary to become a shinobi and we would like to help you achieve all that you can._

 _We appreciate that you are in the hospital recovering from an injury to the arm. Consequently, you can not start the academy until next term. You will be expected at the academy at 9:00 on the 14_ _th_ _March._

 _Do not worry about expenses. Your stay at the hospital has been paid for as has your education at the shinobi academy._

 _We look forward to seeing you. We are sure you will make a fine shinobi when you grow older._

 _Sincerely,_

 ** _The Shinobi Council_**

When I finish reading my hands are shaking so badly that I drop the paper. It gently falls into my lap. I stare at it for a minute longer.

I'm shocked. For all my life I have actively avoided all shinobi and made a desperate effort to be unnoticed. I know that I wanted to make things better for civilians and I had already told myself that to do that I would have to be noticed but this did not fit any of the plans I had made or any of the events I had expected.

Truthfully, from my straight mousy brown hair and brown eyes to my intelligence and smarts, I was no one important. I have no idea why any of this stuff keeps happening to me. Why I had to be the only one to swear at a shinobi. The only one to save a girl after her father had been slaughtered before her eyes. The only one to survive an explosion. I don't know why it was always me. And I hated it.

I had prided myself in being reasonably smart and good at talking myself out of situations but I was in no way suited for the shinobi life, be it the killing or the suspicious leaders and the people working in the shadows. There was also no way of getting out of this mess.

I must have had to have been silent for several minutes as the nurse squeezes my shoulder. She looks at me with kindly eyes.

"I can tell this is a big shock for you. You must be so excited. I know I was! I'll leave you with your thoughts." She hurries out of the room (probably to tell the gossip to all the other nurses) and I'm left in almost complete silence.

Excitement huh? Was that the emotion I was supposed to be feeling. I can tell you now. It certainly wasn't. All I felt was a dark pool of dread. It spread like a poison throughout my body, my very soul wanting to flee.

Through my fear, I could vaguely feel an idea forming in my head as to why they had done it. I wasn't going to lie it made sense. So much sense.

By paying for the hospital treatment and my future education they were making themselves look like the good guy. They were trying to convince me to trust them. Because they couldn't be that bad if they paid for my treatment, could they? But my mistrust of them, all my experiences of the shadows of Konoha, told me otherwise. That side of me screamed not to trust them. But I needed a reason.

Why?

Surely I could leave if I wanted to I could just leave? There is nothing tying me down to become a shinobi.

Unless…

I grip the sheets beneath me in anger.

They were paying for my education. If I failed then I would have to pay for it myself. If I passed then I would be a shinobi. And if I refused… if I refused… then I would be breaking the law.

I had been bored once, waiting outside a shop for some of the other kids. Across the other side of the street, there was a piece of paper badly taped to the wall. It was propaganda, they posted that everywhere around the village. Usually, I ignored it and got on with my life- like everyone else. But this time I was so bored that I wandered over to it and began to read.

It was not a normal bit of propaganda. It was not a usual slogan. "Shinobi save Konoha daily. What are you doing?" or some kind of other bullshit. No. It was far more direct. It was a list, like some kind of list of rules. I'm not sure what it was but there was 28 of them. It made sense- this was the red light district after all.

I skimmed through them until one, in particular, caught my eye. I remember the number an everything!

 _#23. You go against one of the leaders of the village, you are a criminal. You are going against the whole village._

To this day I remember frowning at the sign. When I got back to the orphanage I grabbed a few sheets of paper and a pencil and began writing notes. I'm not sure why it stuck out to me so much but now I sure am happy about it.

Because it means if I don't go to the shinobi academy then I will be classed as a nuke-nin.

If they find me suitable to go to the academy even if I don't go, then I can and will be classed as a shinobi. By disobeying the council and not going to the academy then I am breaking the law. Since I will be classed as a shinobi then I will be leaving my post. Being a "traitor". I will be hunted as a nuke-nin. I probably wouldn't be killed but I could be either forced to go back to the academy or tortured as a spy.

Therefore I couldn't just not go to the academy. I had to go. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I could either not go and risk being hunted or go and become something that I hated. I couldn't even fail because then I would have to pay for my education. I would never be able to afford that!

I groaned and threw my head back into the pillow. Unbeknownst to me, I had caught the attention of the girl.

"Oi, what's up with you?" I groaned again when the girl's obnoxious voice rose up from her bed.

"Why do you care?" I say bluntly, not in the mood to humour her and her pathetic fantasies.

"Well, why would a shinobi child be so upset?" she seems to be talking half to herself as well as talking to me. I don't want to have to explain that I'm not a shinobi child so I scrunch up the scroll and toss it over to her.

"Just read this." The sound of rustling paper fills the air and then the sound of silence follows it as the girl reads the scroll. It takes her a while to read it. But I don't care. The less time with her speaking the better.

"Oh." I sit sharply and glare at her. Oh. Fucking oh! That was all she had to say. "I've seen a letter like this before." My glare turns into a look of curiosity.

"What happened?" Maybe I can get some information out of this girl. It looks uncertain as the girl remains silent for a few moments. I see her fiddling with the paper, a frown on her face.

"I've seen it before…" she whispers. Her voice is soft, like the wind. I feel myself leaning forward. There is definitely a story behind that voice.

"I remember it clearly. One of those things that never leaves you." She looks at me wistfully. Her eyes are glazed and feel as if she is not even looking at me.

"And it all started with one letter…"


	10. Chapter 9

[Third Person P.O.V]

[Flashback]

 _The small girl looked up at the boy in interest. Curiosity glinted in her wide innocent eyes._

" _What is it Togi?" she said brightly. He blinked as if just remembering she was there. He stuffed the paper into her pockets and smiled wanly at her._

" _It's nothing." He said, patting the girl on her small head. She grinned at him._

" _Good. Race ya back to the house?" she said in happy voice. The boy nodded distractedly and jogged slowly letting the girl win. His head was spinning with thoughts as he ran. Why would they? Why him? How would he tell the others? What was he going to do?_

 _When he reached the house the girl had already run up to their shared room. Waving a half-hearted greeting to the owner of the house her ran straight to the room._

 _Reaching the room he saw the girl playing with her dolls. The other kids were out and her younger brother was sleeping so he brought out the letter. He looked at it, re-reading it over and over._

 _Each time he read it the words had different meanings. One time they told him he would be great, the next they said that he was going to fail. But each time he read it kept repeating one meaning. "You must come." It was between each line, on each comma and every full stop. Every time the breeze whizzed through his room it was whispered._

" _Oi!" his head whipped over to the girl. She was glaring at him and he felt a panic flutter in his chest. She must've heard it and now she was wondering what was going on. She hated him, wanted him dead._

" _Come and play dolls with me!" he blinked. Of course, that's what she felt laughter bubble inside his chest but he shoved it back down. He didn't want Riko annoyed at him._

" _Ok." He said walking over to her. He quickly stuffed the paper back in his pocket and sat down next to her. "What's happening to the dolls?" he didn't need to worry about the letter for the moment anyway._

* * *

 _The boy was awoken to sharp tapping at the door. He shoved on a top and some pants and ran downstairs. He flung open the door to see a man waiting for him._

 _The man was wearing the infamous shinobi gear and had an unimpressed look on his face as he glared down at the boy._

" _Lateness is not tolerated Togi-san." He said coldly. The boy felt a shiver run down his spine. That voice was plain dangerous. He bowed low to the older man._

" _Please forgive me shinobi-san. I will be on time from here on out." The boy muttered quickly, not wanting to get on the bad side of a shinobi._

" _Rise Togi-san. Now hurry and get into something more…" the man made a tsking sound and Togi felt his face flushing. "Appropriate." The man finished. Togi nodded and rushed upstairs, conscious that he was making the man wait._

 _He flung his drawers open and dug through it until he found an acceptable pair of pants and a top. He looked down at it and groaned. He was going to have to buy something more suitable to be a ninja. These would tear so easily._

" _Where are you going?" a small, tired voice rose up from the bed over the other side of the room. He must have been making too much noise. He felt guilt weigh on his heart and he smiled at the girl._

" _Just out. I'll see you later." The girl hummed and then her breathing evened and slowed. Togi smiled fondly at her. He closed the door, careful not to make too much noise, and ran downstairs._

" _I'm ready sir." He said, aware of how underdressed and out of breath he was._

" _Uh huh." The shinobi said unconvinced. "Come with me Togi-san. You're going to be behind the other students. No need to waste time." The boy felt his cheeks redden again but quickly followed the man._

* * *

 _The small girl frowned, putting down her dolls. She had barely seen Togi in months. He was always "just going out" super early and arriving back, completely exhausted, super late. She missed her play mate. The other 2 kids were boring and told her they were too old to play with her and her brother was too stupid and little._

 _In fact, he had barely spared her a word in the past months. She loved how he used to talk to her like a human but now he just treated her like a small delicate flower or didn't say anything at all and just patted her on the head._

 _She just wanted her friend back but it semed like each day they were getting further apart. She could only hope that he would stop going out soon and be back to being her buddy._

 _She looked down at her dolls but they no longer had the life that they had a few seconds ago. Now they just seemed like what they actually were, a couple of strings of cotton. They were empty and pointless. She put them down and walked away. She hadn't played outside in a while._

* * *

" _This is the unwritten shinobi rule." Togi looked up from his notes in surprise. There was another rule? He didn't think that there was. He thought they had learnt all of the shinobi rules a couple of weeks ago._

" _Not any shinobi talk about this rule but it is generally agreed upon. It is very important to remember. I expect you all to write it down." The teacher peered around the room to check that everyone was holding a pen and not messing around. Like usual they were perfectly behaved. He was not like Iruka-sensei. No misbehaviour was tolerated in his class._

" _The rule goes as follows: All civilians must listen to shinobi and all shinobi receive the right to kill any and all civilians that are disobeying other shinobi or themselves." Togi stared at the teacher in shock. That couldn't be a rule surely. It must be some kind of a joke! Why would they ake a rule allowing shinobi to kill civilians that were basically getting in the way?_

" _Togi! I see you not writing! Get it written down." Togi nodded and gulped. He quickly wrote it in his book. He disagreed with this rule strongly. It shouldn't be fair that shinobi were allowed to kill civilians that "got in the way". Togi felt a weariness descend over him. This was the ways of the world and he couldn't change it. Why bother fighting?_

* * *

 _The girl ran through the streets. She had followed Togi to this building earlier. She was going to greet him. He would be happy to see her she was sure of it! For the past few weeks he had been really grumpy but she was sure if she tried to cheer him up he would feel much better._

 _When the girl reached the building, she did a double take. She had seen it earlier but had not managed to truly take in the magnitude of it. It was huge! Bigger than any building she had ever seen before! It looked super awesome and she bet only awesome people got taught there. That must be why Togi was there._

 _The girl was broken out of her thoughts when the first trickle of students began to exit the building. She giggled and hid behind the corner of one of the nearby buildings. When he walked past she would jump out at him and surprise him._

 _She was waiting for about 5 minutes when she heard footsteps. She smiled, smothering a laugh and then jumped out from behind the corner, eyes closed, smile wide._

" _Togi!" she yelled smiling brightly. There was no sound in return. She opened her eyes in confusion, looking around for him. "Togi?" she repeated in a confused tone._

 _A pair of muscled arms gripped her under her armpits. "Togi." She said in relief looking up into a pair of smiling gleaming eyes. It wasn't Togi._

 _Not knowing what to do the girl struggled. "Let me go!" she yelled. The arms just gripped her tighter. She became desperate kicking out in all directions. The figure behind her didn't even react._

" _It ain't nice to sneak up on people is it?" the voice that asked her was low and strangely happy. She struggled more. That voice sounded dangerous and she just wanted to get away._

" _Let me go!" she yelled, louder this time. The arms pulled her tighter into a body and she could barely move._

" _Your mine pretty." The voice said. The girl screamed and began sobbing._

" _Just please let me go!" she begged, fat tears of shame and fear running down her cheeks. Her wide eyes looked around desperately for something to help her escape._

 _The arms behind moved to a different position and she took her chance. She grabbed a plank of wood that was lying in front of her. She bashed the arms that were holding her. Shocked they let her go and she tumbled to the floor._

" _You little bitch! I'll get you for that!" she backed away. Dark eyes were staring at her, glinting in the semi-light. She whimpered and gripped the wood closer to her body._

 _The figure lunged at her and, without thinking, she raised the wood and brought it down with a large slamming sound. The figure instantly stopped and fell to the floor in a huge heap. It was not a natural position. The figure was to still. She could see a dark liquid begin to seep out of a cut on the figures head. She brought a foot to the figure and nudged it but the figure did not rouse, staying in the same crumpled heap as before._

 _The girl dropped the plank like it had burnt her. Without a second glance behind her, she ran, tears still falling out of her not so innocent eyes._

 _He wasn't there. He always walked that way, but he wasn't there when she needed him. He was never there anymore. Why had she ever bothered? This place was not nice at all! She hated it. It wasn't safe or good and she wished she never came!_

 _She was still crying when she crawled into her bed. Small tears rolled out of tired, bloodshot eyes. She tried not to thing about the crumpled heap of human she had left behind. She was never doing anything like that again. Trying to help others left only hurt you in the end. What was the point of trying to help someone else?_

* * *

 _Togi walked into the office, fear in his heart. No longer a small boy like he was 3 years ago, he was now a man. His arms were muscled, the result of many hours of training. His expression was careful schooled, showing none of the emotions that were underneath._

 _The room was brightly lit with a single man and desk inside or, at least, he assumed that was all that was in there. He had learnt early that things were never truly how they appeared._

 _Once he was before the desk he bowed. "You called me in Hokage-sama?" he said carefully. He was talking to the most powerful man in the village. A man that could squash him with one finger. Manners were the key._

" _Rise Togi." The Hokage said, seeming amused. Togi did so, steeling his nerves and looking the man in the eyes._

" _Why are you a shinobi Togi-san?" 'Because a piece of paper told me I had to.' The sarcastic part of his brain supplied. Of course, Togi was not going to say that._

" _Sir?" he asked, confused. What did this have to do with anything?_

 _The Hokage smiled. "Answer the question Togi." It was a gentle statement but Togi knew that is was not a choice._

" _To protect the village, of course." He said instantly. The Hokage lifted his hands and placed them on the desk in front of him._

" _I didn't ask why the textbooks wanted you to become a shinobi. I'm asking you." Togi was slightly taken aback. What did the Hokage expect him to say? He was taught to follow the rules but that wasn't what the Hokage wanted?_

 _Carefully choosing his words Togi responded. "I want to be a shinobi because…" he trailed off thinking about all the things he had heard about heroes and what they had done to sacrifice themselves. What a legacy they had left in their wake. "I want to protect the legacies that will serve this village and make sure they can grow up in a safe world and grow to their true potential" to his response the Hokage simply nodded a smile blooming on his face._

" _In that case… Welcome to ANBU Togi-san!"_

* * *

 _The girl sat with needles in her hand. She was trying to knit and really failing, creating knot after knot. She didn't even understand why she had to do this. According to Mindi-sensei it was so she could become a "true lady" whatever that meant. She didn't even understand why she had to marry a man. Why she couldn't just get a job of her own but apparently "that kind of thought would get you nowhere."_

 _She frowned as she made another knot, nearly giving up and throwing the darn thing on the ground. Stupid needles, stupid knitting, stupid Mindi-sensei. She slouched over in defeat. 'Ugh I give up.' She thought._

 _When the door in front of her opened she instantly straightened. She placed her knitting to one side and looked up. It was Togi-san. She smiled at him._

" _What can I do for you Togi-san?" she asked. His expression didn't change, staring straight forward, not looking at her. She was used to this, however, and just kept her gaze forward._

" _I'm moving out." She sighed at his blunt answer but her smile didn't fall. She had been expecting this for a while._

" _Where are you going to be staying? She asked still smiling. He didn't answer straight away, leaving the silence hanging in the air for a few more seconds._

" _I'm afraid that's classified information." Her smile was beginning to feel strained but she kept it up anyway. It hurt how he didn't even trust her with that._

" _Oh, moving up in the world, Togi-san?" he didn't even smile, barely acknowledging she said anything. She picked up her discarded needles._

" _I'm collecting my belongings." With that, he left the room leaving Riko alone with her knitting needles. Her smile finally fell._

" _Goodbye Togi-san." She whispered, restarting her knitting. That was what it was after all. Goodbye._

* * *

" _Riko, I got something in the post!" Riko smiled and looked over at her two years younger brother. She hummed._

" _What is it Miko?" she asked gently. He ran over to her near shoving the letter in her face. She smiled at him and took it from his hands._

 _She opened it and began reading it. As she began to read her heart froze. She could recognize the print, she had seen enough of Togi's textbooks to know what this was._

 _An academy referral._

 _She grabbed the letter and tossed it into the fire, ignoring her brother's indignant yelp. She grabbed her brother's hand and looked him in the eyes._

" _I don't want you responding to any of those. Okay?" her brother looked at her with wide eyes._

" _Why?" she clenched his hands tighter in fear._

" _Just promise me." She said, her voice pleading. "If you get any more of those bring them to me. The people sending those letters are not nice people. They'll kill you." She could see her brother's eyes fill with fear._

" _I-I promise." He said in a shaky voice. She dragged him on to her lap and hugged him close. For once he didn't protest and they sat there for a while, comforted by the fact that each other was there and safe._

* * *

 _The first thing the women heard was a loud thump. It sounded like it was coming from downstairs. Throwing on a dressing gown she rushed downstairs and opened the door. Outside her door there were four shinobi. Each of them were wearing different animal masks. The woman's heart thudded in her chest._

" _Whats the matter gentlemen?" she asked, refusing to show how scared she ws by letting her voice shake._

 _For a minute there was silence. All the woman could hear was the silence of the night and the chirping of crickets. Then they spoke._

" _We need to see your children." The woman frowned. That voice… it sounded familiar. Then the actual words registered in her brain and her frown deepened._

" _Why do you need to see the children?" she asked in a sharp tone. What had the kids done? For all the time she had known them they had been polite and well behaved. They certainly hadn't done anything that warranted four shinobi._

" _Under the name of the Hokage and his council we are here to arrest them." The woman couldn't help it as a gasp escaped her. Arrested! They had done nothing to deserve being arrested they were good kids. She could not let these four shinobi arrest them._

" _I'm afraid I can't let you do that." She said, her voice low and cold. She loved her village but these kids, though not her own, had lived here for 9 years and had been good kids. She would not let some random shinobi arrest them._

" _Ma'am your are preventing an arrest that is-"_

" _I don't care." She said lowly. "These are good kids and have done nothing to warrant this almost unlawful arrest." She glared at them. "Kill me if you have to. At least then I will know that I have done at least one good thing before death."_

 _The shinobi turned to each other. They seemed to be having a silent conversation. The woman didn't care though. She had no fear, not anymore. She knew she was going to die but she was going to try her hardest to save the kids._

" _Sorry, then Ma'am." The woman saw one of the shinobi, dressed in a badger mask, make a quick sign with his hands. She gasped as a cold dark feeling travelled through her body. She could feel it shutting down. Her hands were shaking. But she still had one last chance._

" _Get out of here! Run! Get away…" the woman screamed trailing off at the end as she could no longer speak. She closed her eyes and smiled._

' _God above,_

 _Please give me an easy passing. I hope I have done some good in my life. If nothing else please say that I have saved at least one of those children above they don't deserve to die._

 _I guess this is my time.' The woman looked around the kitchen, where she had cooked many dinners and made many memories._

' _You have been good to me. I feel like I have lived a full life. Please give this same gift to the children upstairs._

 _Amen.' The women looked around the kitchen one last time before falling into a sleep where she would never wake, her eyes perpetually staring at the ceiling and a stubborn smile on her face._

* * *

 _Riko awoke to the loud scream downstairs. She jumped out of the bed, looking around groggily. What was going on. Why was the old woman downstairs telling her to run? She looked to her left and saw her brother in a very similar position. There eyes met and she could see confusion in his that was mirrored in her own._

 _She started when loud footsteps thudded up the steps of the old house. She stood up, dragging her brother up with her. They were both tense. Riko grabbed the pair of knitting needles from the cabinet beside her. If nothing else maybe she could use these as a weapon._

 _The next thing she saw the door to their room was flung open, almost tearing the door off of its hinges. She could see four strange men wearing animal masks. She looked curiously at them. Why were they wearing those masks? The masks were an odd silly dissonance to the dangerous aura they had around them._

" _What did you do with Yamin-san?" It was her brother that asked, his voice low and dangerous. The four masked people didn't respond._

" _Come with us boy." The rabbit masked man spoke. His voice was commanding and powerful. The girl flinched. What did they want with her brother?_

" _You can't take him with you!" The girl stepped in front of her brother, glaring at the shinobi as if daring them to respond._

" _If you do not move we will have to kill you." It was the rabbit masked man who spoke again. Riko had no doubts that he would kill her. Her heart thudded in her chest but she did not move._

 _Before she could even think the rabbit masked one had made several signs with his hand and then launched a ball of… light at her. Her eyes clenched shut. This was going to hurt. However before it his her she heard a loud No! yelled and when it didn't hit her she opened her eyes._

 _It was her brother. He had jumped in front of it to save her. She looked on in silent horror as he coughed, blood spurting out of his mouth._

" _Sorry sister…" he whispered, smiling at her. Then he fell silent and still. She looked on in shock. She couldn't move._

" _No…No. No! NO!" she screamed. She flung herself over her brother's body, trying to ignore how it was stiffening and losing its warmth beneath her._

" _You can't leave me!" she sobbed. Her sobs were so loud that it drowned out the words of them men in front of her. They were muttering to each other._

" _The mission has failed."_

" _Let's go and report to the Hokage."_

" _We'll leave you to kill the girl frog."_

"…"

" _Frog?"_

" _Oh, yeah."_

" _Forget your emotions Frog. They don't matter here."_

 _With that the four shinobi were gone leaving frog to stare at the girl on the floor. She was scarlet with blood from her brother. Her face was covered with a mixture of tears,snot and blood. He knelt next to her and tried to grab her brothers body._

 _When he reached down she growled at him. He was slightly taken aback. That was not a reaction he had expected._

" _You're not taking him." She hissed. Her eyes were bloodshot at she glared at him. It was clear that, though her heart was broken, her spirit was not._

" _I have to." He said emotionlessly. She looked at him with narrowed eyes. She seemed to be analysing him. When she found her answer her eyes went wide with shock and hurt._

" _Togi-san." She whispered. He could hear the hate and hurt in her voice. He didn't react, staying in the same position._

" _Togi-san." She repeated. Louder this time. It was clear she was brimming with anger. Still, the man did not react._

" _No wonder you told me your new placement was classified." She jabbed him in the chest with a long bony finger._

" _I wouldn't want to tell my family I was fucking murderer either." He still didn't react, staying silent. She brought up a large hand and slapped him on the back of his head._

" _React! You just murdered someone who thought of you as kin! Don't you have the decency to be a-ashamed o-of y-y-yourself…" she erupted into loud sobs. He brought a hand up to his head and winced. It wasn't so much the slap that hurt._

 _It was the emotions behind that slap._

" _Go…" she looked at him, hiccupping._

" _What?!" she asked in shock. He was supposed to kill her. Where did he thick she was going to go._

" _I can't kill you. Go." She looked at him. Gaze turning red._

" _So, you've killed my brother but you're going to torture me and leave me alive!" She smashed a fist into the floor. "Stop being a coward and a martyr! Just kill me!" she sobbed._

" _I can't kill you. I won't kill you. Go. I'm sorry but please live. Live for your brother. Live for the life that was stolen from him. Live for-" he paused and reached up removing his mask. She gaped in seeing his face. It was full of gashes that had not been there when she last saw him. She reached up a hand._

" _Kami…" she whispered in shock, too drained to cry anymore._

 _He smiled at her. "Live for the life that was stolen from me and every other civilian forced to become a murderer. You may not like it but you have to. Your brother sacrificed himself for you. Every day people like me are being told to stop feeling emotions." He gently raised a hand and ruffled her hair. "Live for the empty husk I will one day become."_

" _Togi…" she choked. He stiffened and pushed her into one of the closets._

" _They're coming back. Stay here until they are gone. Then run. Run to the deepest parts of Konoha where they will never find you. Find another way to live." He began to close the closet._

" _I'm so sorry…"_

 _With that she could hear his footsteps leaving. She stayed in the closet for longer than she should have. Her brain was whirring and all she could think about was her brother and Togi and her brother and Togi… But no more tears fell. She had no use for them. She had to live. They had both sacrifice themselves for her. She had to respect them._

 _And live._

[End Flashback]

[Cheree's P.O.V]

I stared her in horror as she finished recounting her story. I could see tears glittering in the corner of her eyes. Whereas before I had dismissed them as crocodile tears I know realised how strong she really was.

"That was the last I ever saw of him…" I look down. Here I was judging her as a self-entitled idiot when really she had been stronger than me all along.

"That's what being a shinobi does. It strips you of all you morals and spirit. It makes you a machine, barely capable of free thought. Only living to defend the village." She spat. She looked at me, a fierce look in her eyes.

"That's why on good conscious I cannot let you stay here." I saw a small grin turn her lips up. "Kid, I'm busting you outa here."

 **[A/N]**

 **I know many of you may see some plot holes but don't worry its all part of the plan for the next chapter.**

 **I really hate the ANBU. It is basically there to brainwash children and/or a place for suicidal maniacs (Kakashi) to go. It really doesn't seem to be that powerful. They are always one of the first to be taken down. Heck, Naruto can outrun a whole platoon of them before he is even a genin. They seem to only be there to do the dirty work or the jobs that are so suicidal that there is a 1/100 chance of surviving them.**

 **Even with the ANBU some people are still convinced that Konoha is an innocent place. I don't think it is. In fact, I'm so harsh I'm going to say that not even Minato was truly good. Minato was known as the yellow flash because he could quickly slaughter thousands of shinobi and had yellow hair. But he is still loved as a hero. Say someone like that was in America for example. If he did that in America hate to break it to you but he would be a terrorist.**

 **Just to clarify I don't hate Konoha I hate the notion that it is innocent because it isn't. Not in the slightest.**

 **Do you agree? Do you hate the story? Do you like Ramen? Leave a review!**


	11. Chapter 10

I stare at her as she continues to smile at me, the tears previously found in her eyes now nowhere to be seen.

"How can I trust you?" I ask, my eyes narrowed. She flinches back, and her smile falls for a millisecond but she quickly recovers.

"I've told you my life story kid. You know everything I do. I wonder _why_ I would want to help you." She says in a dry tone, her eyes half-lidded.

"You've told me a story, one that I don't even know for definite is true and, yet you expect me to trust you. Call me paranoid maybe but growing up in Konoha does that to you.

She blinks and looks at me with slight pity. "Kid not everyone in this world wants to kill you, ya know? Most people don't care who you are or what you do they have other things to do with there lives and one runaway kid is not something they will worry about." She closes her eyes and sighs. "Sometimes you just have to accept help and the fact that person doesn't want to hurt you."

I glare at her. That notion is very naïve and very much easier said than done. However, she is right that I Will need to trust some people eventually. I sigh but have to accept that she is my only lifeline in this place. Even if her ability to suddenly change personalities is very unnerving.

"Ok…" I sigh.

-Later that night -

I feel tense in the countdown to the start of our plan. Riko is calm, unnervingly so. We have barely exchanged any words since the making of our plan earlier and I can't stop myself from coming up with situations that may possibly happen.

What if she betrays me? What if we get caught? Will I get sent to the building of terrors that I always got warned of? The one where they pull off your skin and pluck out your eyebrows until you tell them what they want to hear?

'Cheree calm down.' I tell myself. I can't help my heart still thudding wildly in my chest, but I can somewhat slow down my breathing and relax my body. My brain tends to think itself into a corner I situations like this and I need to just stop it before I get stuck in a loop of thoughts that are inescapable…

It is nearly time. I can tell from the sun in the sky, almost completely set. I look over to Riko. She has her eyes shut, though I can tell she is not asleep. She looks deep into thought and for a moment I worry if she even remembers about our plan.

Stop being stupid Cheree. I scold myself. What else does she have to do? The hospital isn't a place to be distracted.

Even with that thought in my head, I myself am almost too distracted to notice the small flick of Riko's hand and nod of her head. My chest clenches and breath quickens. It's time.

I quietly begin to gather what little belonging I have into a small bundle and shove it inside the pillowcase. While doing this I notice Riko slip out of bed. Good luck I mouth. She looks so calm when she nods back I almost don't notice her hand shaking.

While I begin to unlock the window, she begins her part of the plan.

"Argh! It hurts! I want my Mom! It hurts!" It sounds so real for a minute I hesitate and wonder if she is telling the truth. However, she gives me a small thumb up sign before she continues down the hall and out of sight to the nurse's room.

Meanwhile, I have the window open- well half open. The stupid thing has a weird barrier thing on it meaning that I'll have to slip through a small gap. It's a good thing I'm small. I slip out of the small crack.

As soon as I get out of the window I realise my oversight. How I am supposed to get down. It looks simple, I am only on the second floor, but it is still terrifying.

The ground below me starts swimming and I grip hold of the window with my dear life. I shut my eyes tight and begin to panic. What am I going to do? I'm going to get caught! I'm going to be taken away to the building of terrors!

Maybe I should just give up. Maybe the ninja school isn't as bad as I feared. You know what I do live in the red-light zone and it is very crime ridden. That's must be why the shinobi are harsher there.

I'm just being selfish. I could gain money by being a shinobi. I could help the kids at the orphanage. The village can't be that bad I'm just a pessimist.

Then I remember. All the horrors I've seen. All the homeless orphaned children without a home. All the shinobi hurting the innocent. My goal in life was to change that. And one fall out of a window won't change that.

I open my eyes and look down. There is a tree that is quite close- just a small jump would be all that it would take.

Trembling I let go of my grip on the windowsill and fall towards the tree.

 **[A/N]**

 **Ok so I know its been awhile and I'm really sorry but I've been so busy, along with having to rewrite this chapter multiple time because MY COMPUTER DOESN'T** ** _SEEM TO LIKE THIS CHAPTER VERY MUCH._**

 **I hope that wait has brought a good chapter. I think that my writing style has improved slightly. I'm still very much a novice writer and I'm slowly going to learn to overcome that novice(ness?). So to those people have followed- Thanks for your patience and understanding.**

 **Anyway, what do you think of this chapter? Do you like Riko? Do you think that Cheree should have escaped the hospital?**


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